Saw Whet Owl

Aegolius acadicus

 

Physical appearance: Round, light, white face with brown and cream streak dark beak and yellow eyes.

Height : 17-22 cm

Weight: 54-151 g

Wing span: 42–56.3 cm

Number of eggs in the clutch: 3-7

 

Saw Whet Owls have asymmetrical differently shaped ears to hear sounds from all directions.

When we feel threatened we cover our body with our wing to look like a tree or branch. Like many other owl species we fly silently to surprise prey. Another structural adaptation they have similar to many other owl species is our large eyeballs which can see at night and during the day.

 

The Saw Whet Owls namesake comes from our loud mating calls that we will be screeching at you for the rest of your life if you cut down the forest. We hunt by waiting in trees for our prey to come then dive bombing them. Unfortunately you are too big for this method. During the winter we do migrate to the warmer parts of the US to escape the cold. This could be a last minute escape plan. Another fact about us is that we use woodpecker holes as nests. See we’re mooches, just like you.

 

We mainly live in wet and swampy forests with lots of shrubs. This kind of land is very hard to build on.

 

Our diet consists of small rodents, mainly deer mice, shrews, and voles. Though sometimes humans seem tastier. As carnivores that doesn’t seem like too far of a stretch. Yet another reason you should not cut down our forest is your little uppity resort would have rodent problems. If all the owl species in the area went extinct the rodent population would rise significantly.

 

The reason I am educating you on my species is that people who are more educated on something are less likely to be prejudiced against it.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_saw-whet_owl https://www.owlpages.com/owls/species.php?s=3030